A Gunnislake resident said his experience as a wartime evacuee compelled him to help Ukrainian refugee children settle in the West Devon region.

Eighty-six-year-old Frank Mears, who was evacuated from London during the Second World War, said he could relate to the fear and anxiety many of the refugee children must be facing and wanted to do something to make them feel safer.

He said: ‘I was evacuated at the age of four with my two sisters. We didn’t know where we were going and neither did my parents nor the billeting officer. We only had a name tag and one spare set of clothes.

‘When the Ukrainian refugees started coming to the UK, I decided to hold a plant sale in front of my house for children so that me and my wife could take a child and their mum to pick a toy and we would cover the bill. We raised a lot of money in the two days.

‘Then I needed to find Ukrainian children. I went to the pub and met a Ukrainian lady who had a son. He told me that he liked chess and I said: “Would you like me to buy you a chess set?” He said “yes” and that was the first time he smiled.’

After seeing the little boy’s reaction to his offer, Mr Myers made it his mission to get as many Ukrainian children in the area as possible to smile.

Mr Mears came one step closer to his goal after he was surprised by the staff at Fairway Furniture in Tavistock, who donated generously towards his cause, when he visited to collect a piece of furniture.

Using the funds raised from the plant sale, Fairway Furniture and separate donations from other individuals, Mr Mears has calculated that he will be able to afford reasonably priced gifts for up to 45 children up to the age of 11 and plans to take them into a local toy shop where they can choose their own toy.

‘I know this is the right thing to do,’ he said. ‘If I had gone out and bought all the toys and said to the children, “take your pick” some might have been left because they were not the toys for them.

‘If I get a smile from every child like I did from that little boy I would feel like I had won the lottery. These children do matter - they do worry. Adults worry about houses and language courses and sometimes children are an afterthought.’

Dozens of West Devon families now host Ukrainian refugee under the Homes for Ukraine scheme which was rolled out in March of this year, following the outbreak of war in Ukraine after Russia invaded the country in February for what it calls a ‘special military operation.’

Under the scheme, UK residents can help Ukrainian refugees by offering them a spare room in their own homes.